Soooo I have just read the most inspiring book! It’s one of those books where you can’t help yourself – you simply have to go straight back to the first page to start again. It’s called More Time To Think and it’s written by Nancy Kline.
As a psychology fan, I am personally fascinated by how our thinking – personally, as work teams, as families, and even as a society – shapes our existence. And I am certainly not the first to be pondering this subject….
Do you have a best friend at work? This is one of the more unusual questions, which forms part of Gallup’s famous Q12, a 12-question survey which identifies employee attitudes that correlate with higher profitability. It’s a question that has always struck me as an anomaly, something I am more likely to inquire of my 7 year old than of a work colleague. After all work is serious stuff, focus, performance, deadlines, deliverables. Friends? Wasn’t that a TV series?
What’s wrong with the “made in China” model?
Amy Chua a Chinese American and self proclaimed Tiger Mom (Buy this book here), recently set the cat among the pigeons with her manifesto on parenting the Chinese way.
Without mincing her words Chua cocked a snook at western parenting models which build self esteem, value learning through play, emphasize social skills and develop emotional intelligence.
In her view, play in any shape or form (be it play-dates, sleepovers, drama, art, TV, movies, parties, computer games and even sport) is a complete waste of time. Enjoyment is the result of mastery as opposed to being a pre requisite for it. This is something that she demonstrates in her pre birth decision to make each of her daughters master a musical instrument, to the extent of depriving them of food, sleep and shelter, should they fail to bend to her will.
World Cup lessons... strictly for the fans.
JOHANNESBURG - Vision, mission and strategic intent - the classic business school lingo which sees most people's eyes snow over like a faulty TV set.
The hyper analytical among us only make it worse by adding complexity in the form of graphs, maps models, and the like. Unless you work for a management consultancy or are doing your MBA, these potentially powerful concepts remain overused, meaningless buzzwords.
Platinum strike: Wage gap? Pah. Real crisis is canyon of communication R12 500 seems to be a magic number. It has been the pivotal point of wage negotiations in the platinum sector, which up until now has caused a deadlock resulting in a four-month strike (the end of which is hopefully imminent).
When I was 18 I injured my back almost irreparably and had to have a spinal fusion: the result I was told, of an imbalance in the development of my back muscles, after 10 years of intensive tennis.
Many years later I discovered Pilates, a form of exercise that is defined by the pursuit of balance among all muscle groups, the development of core strength and flexibility so that the body can function as optimally as it was designed to do. There’s no doubt that if I knew then what I know now, I wouldn’t be walking around with 3 titanium pins in my back.
